The manufacture of cold appliance is commonly done close to the customers because of the bulky nature of the appliances, a large proportion of the volume being empty space. This increases the cost of transportation. The cabinet must be easily assembled to form a rigid structure with good thermal insulation characteristics, and to resist moisture migration, and must have an aesthetically attractive appearance. A further complication is that the cabinet must contain technical equipment for performing different functions. In particular, the cold appliance must have a refrigeration system and associated sensors and controls.
Another problem associated with the manufacturing of cold appliances is that it involves high investment costs for the development of product lines and the like. Conventional manufacturing plants for cold appliances are usually inflexible, so that it is difficult to adapt the plant for manufacturing cold appliances with differing dimensions and variable component options in small series. Normally, new product designs require large production runs to be economically feasible. Thus the developers are discouraged from innovation, or variations in product design are very costly.
It is desirable to provide a cold appliance which can be manufactured in segments amenable to transport and which can be assembled to from the cabinet at another location which does not need the complex and expansive manufacturing equipment of the primary manufacturing site. The segments should be easy to assemble and interconnect.
The current method for making insulation panels uses continuous line assembly. However, this can be problematic where foamed-in brackets and reinforcements are required, as improper location of these elements can result in a high scrap rate. Further, it is difficult to incorporate vacuum insulation panels in a continuous line process. Plastic trim over open foam edges needs adhesive to attach the trim. It is also difficult to incorporate roll forming of steel panels into a continuous line process.
This invention seeks to ameliorate, at least in part, one or more of these problems.